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When you’re adapting a board game for the<br />
screen, how important is“fan-boy fidelity.”<br />
Did you feel you had a wide open slate?<br />
For me, the big challenge is I’m aware that<br />
there is a segment of our fan-boy population<br />
that has been skeptical about Battleship. They<br />
have voiced their opinions that Battleship<br />
doesn’t lend itself to the most logical film<br />
interpretation. I’ve noted those comments and<br />
I think part of the competitor in me is taking<br />
pride in finding ways to hopefully, artfully<br />
reference the board game in a way that is additive<br />
to the story and feels kind of fun. Certainly<br />
nothing that encourages anyone to roll their<br />
eyes. If you look at some of our trailers, it’s<br />
pretty obvious that the ordnance that the aliens<br />
use look somewhat like the pegs in the game.<br />
They behave similarly, although much more<br />
violently. There are several other references to<br />
the game throughout the movie.<br />
One thing I find interesting about your<br />
career is that you’ve kind of done every<br />
single role in Hollywood. You were a P.A.,<br />
actor, producer—<br />
Stuntman, grip, electrician, driver, craft-service<br />
guy, clean up the coffee/spilled the coffee guy.<br />
Everything.<br />
So on set, you can tell everyone specifically<br />
how to do their job.<br />
I’m pretty good at knowing when people are<br />
bull-s--tting me and when they’re not. I have<br />
a good understanding of what everyone’s job<br />
is. In all seriousness, I love making films and<br />
telling stories. I love writing and directing. I<br />
also have a real appreciation for how hard it is<br />
for the crews on sets. How much pressure it<br />
puts on them and their families. It’s not unlike<br />
military service. Especially now when so few<br />
films are made in Los Angeles, film crews have<br />
to leave their lives and their kids and spend<br />
nine or ten months away from their kids. They<br />
miss graduations, birthdays and holidays. It’s<br />
brutal. I have a lot of respect for the sacrifices<br />
film crews make. I try to do whatever I can to<br />
help alleviate the pressures that I know exist.<br />
I’ve never heard it compared to military life<br />
before, but I think you’ve got a point.<br />
It’s actually even harder in a sense. If you are in<br />
the military, you have a three-and-half-month<br />
deployment, than a year off, and you’re paid for<br />
all of it. You know generally when your deployment<br />
is going to be. There is a very established<br />
system. I’m not saying it’s easy—it’s not easy—<br />
but there is an established system to help you<br />
and your families get through it. In the film<br />
business, a film crew has to take whatever job<br />
is available. They have no idea where they<br />
are going to go, no idea when they are going<br />
to be back, and when they’re not working,<br />
they’re not getting paid. There is no support<br />
system in place with the film unions to help<br />
the kids whose father or mother aren’t there for<br />
birthdays. It’s not an easy life. I’m really aware<br />
of that. The experiences I had on film crews<br />
certainly help my understanding of that.<br />
I think it was incredibly smart casting to<br />
put Rihanna in this film. How did that idea<br />
come about?<br />
I love finding new faces and casting new faces.<br />
One of my favorite casting times was with the<br />
television series Friday Night Lights. We took<br />
completely unknown actors literally right off the<br />
bus and found what we thought were talented<br />
actors, like Taylor Kitsch and Jesse Plemons.<br />
I’m talking about young actors—obviously Kyle<br />
Chandler has been around. I like that. I like to<br />
mix fresh faces with more established faces. We<br />
had this role—it’s not a lead role, but part of the<br />
ensemble—of a tough female sailor. I had been a<br />
fan of Rihanna for awhile. She did an interview<br />
with Diane Sawyer after the Chris Brown incident<br />
and she struck me as this very intelligent,<br />
poised women. I added that up with the persona<br />
I got from her videos, and I thought, “I bet this<br />
girl can perform—I bet she’s an actress.” She’s<br />
smart. She’s clearly got a lot of charisma. She’s<br />
not shy, and those are all important qualities<br />
for an actor. You’ve got be aggressive and not be<br />
afraid to take chances. Intelligence doesn’t hurt,<br />
PETER PETER<br />
When he saw<br />
“<br />
POPCORN EATER<br />
ate some popcorn at the theatre<br />
ODELL’s O N<br />
He ate more Corn<br />
TOP”<br />
then drank more pop!<br />
Picky patrons prefer popcorn popped<br />
and topped with products from Odell’s.<br />
Come try for yourself at CinemaCon, Booth 725<br />
Call us at<br />
(800) 635-0436,<br />
or visit us online at<br />
www.popntop.com<br />
MAY <strong>2012</strong> BOXOFFICE PRO 97
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